Rumblings Xtra: Items that didn't make print

Friday

Apr 29, 2011 at 12:01 AMApr 29, 2011 at 9:30 AM

After the Bengals drafted Georgia receiver A.J. Green with the No. 4 overall pick in last night’s NFL draft, Chad Ochocinco tweeted: “Prayer #1 answered getting a beast at wide receiver in AJ Green,God please answer pray #2.” He didn’t explain, but earlier in the week he bluntly suggested that the Bengals draft Green because, he tweeted “He'd be perfect. I've done all I can, my time is up.” In two of his tweets he also seemed to blame coach Marvin Lewis for his impending departure. “I love Cincy, but coach Lewis is mean to me now so I think I am gone” and “He has gone over board to publicly [chastise] the one guy who loves hi [.] I'm so hurt.” After hearing all of this, former Ohio State and NFL star Cris Carter told ProFootballTalk.com that he’s had enough of Bengals receiving star. “I’m sick of Chad, I’m sick of hearing from him, I’m sick of hearing what he’s going to do,” Carter said. “Chad, he’s definitely going to end up on someone else’s team if I’m calling the shots.” He would do the same with Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer, for different reasons. “I’m definitely making a deal getting them both out of town,” Carter said. “Carson, who’s probably been the marquee as far as image, what to say, doing all the right stuff, he’s gotten a bad deal being stuck in Cincinnati. So I try to help a player out like this, I ship him somewhere where he would like to be.”

A man’s appreciation for two of his sports heroes of nearly 60 years ago led him to make a $500,000 estate gift to Ohio Wesleyan in their honor. In making the gift with his wife, Cynthia, an OWU alumnus and a member of the school’s board of trustees, Louis Mitchell of Columbus said that he has “always had respect for” Judson Millhon and Robert Gardner both as “fine athletes and fine people.” Millhon was a 1951 first team All-America section in basketball, the school’s first, and Gardner was 1950 all-conference and All-Ohio first-team and honorable mention Little All-America selection. Because of the gift, the school will name the men’s basketball locker room in honor of Millhon and the football locker room in honor of Gardner. Louis Mitchell said that he saw the two men as his heroes while growing up in Newark, Ohio.

While it may have been a frustrating season for Sixers’ rookie Evan Turner, the Philadelphia Daily News’ Bob Cooney wrote that the former Ohio State star “couldn't hide his excitement to get himself ready for his second season” after the season-ending, Game 5 playoff loss to Miami. “I can't wait to get better at my game during the offseason,” he told Cooney. "Players like LeBron (James) and Dwyane Wade are great measures for myself. I think the sky is the limit for me if I just keep working. I think (the playoff experience) made a world of difference. I can't wait for the offseason. I can see a light, to tell you the truth.”

As if anyone needs to be reminded how uncertain the NFL draft is, the quick reaction on the Internet to the Browns’ choice of Baylor tackle Phil Taylor is a good example of it. CBSSports.com’s Pete Prisco gave the Browns a “C” for the pick of Taylor, writing “This is a strange move for a team moving to a 4-3 scheme. He is more of a nose tackle. Strange pick.” Meanwhile, FoxSports.com’s John Czarnacki and Adam Kaplan were praising the pick as a strong one for Cleveland. “Taylor seems to be a perfect fit for new defensive coordinator Dick Jauron’s 4-3 scheme,” Czarnecki wrote. “Taylor is a load and a player Cleveland needs to be a star in order to contain the Pittsburgh and Baltimore running games. Solid pick.”

Team Ohio, a team of high school stars headed by Ohio State Ohio State recruit Marc Loving (Toledo St. John’s), Mark Donnal (Wayne Trace) and several top local players went 6-2 and finished third in Barila Memorial Basketball Tournament in Varese, Italy. The team that The Hoop’s Bobby Kortsen took there included Aaron Jackson of Gahanna, Daniel Aronowitz of Columbus Academy, Jared Kortsen of Dublin Coffman, Antonio Bisutti and Brad Schulze of Dublin Scioto, Tyree Gaiter of Cleveland Heights and Nigel Hayes of Toledo Whitmer. The tournament was won by Siena, the Italian national champions.

Add former Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson to the list of former Michigan players who are thrilled with Brady Hoke as the Wolverines’ football coach. Hoke was the defensive line coach on the 1997 national championship Michigan team that Woodson played on. “I'm very happy for Brady, very happy for the Michigan family,” Woodson told the Detroit News. “I think he's going to do a great job. There's new excitement around Michigan football again.”

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